Backfired: The Wedding, the Bonding, and Beyond
by Kanna37
Summary: Sequel to Backfired. Lucy certainly hadn't thought that she'd be married, bonded, and facing her wedding night when she'd woken up that morning. Welcome to the life of a celestial spirit mage - one with a persistent and flirty leader of the Zodiac on her tail that finally manages to catch his pretty little prey.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I still do not own the characters of Fairy Tail.

~~LoLu~~

"-fill this form out and then bring it back up to me along with the registration fee of twenty jewel," the elderly clerk instructed sourly, obviously just giving her usual spiel. It was apparent that she'd been doing this for a long time.

 _Probably too long_ , Loke thought privately as he watched Lucy frown at the woman and take the papers, if she was able to suck the joy out of such an occasion and make it seem so mundane. He sighed. Oh, well, it didn't matter. Once he and Lucy were done here, she'd officially be his wife – at least in the human realm. That was good enough to tide him over until the evening, when he'd then have Seirei-o perform the spirit world binding, as only he actually could.

And then... well... then it would be their _bonding night –_ or wedding night, whichever term you preferred. With all that either phrase entailed, and oh, he could hardly wait. It had already been such a seemingly long time for him – he'd wanted her for what felt to him like forever, had loved her nearly as long, and been recognizably _in love_ with her since at least the battle of Fairy Tail. He suspected it had really been long before that, though.

But now all the waiting was almost over...

He followed her to a small table and sat down as she looked the form over after taking her own seat, rather glad that she couldn't read his currently dirty mind. He idly pushed his glasses back up his nose as he leaned back in his seat to watch the golden head of his love. She had on that determined expression that he found so terribly erotic, and he smirked a little as he studied her from under heavy lids. The sundress she now had on was simple but pretty, and the best of what she'd brought with her on this trip, while her lace-up sandals showed off her dainty, pretty little feet with their tiny, painted toes to perfection. To be honest, though, he really didn't care what she wore, as long as those papers got signed. That was the important thing here, the only part of the Earthland side of things that mattered, not her wardrobe choices – or current lack of them due to the Grand Magic Games.

She reached into the little purse she'd grabbed while they'd been changing out of their wedding attire – Loke couldn't help but grin as that thought slid by, his Lucy was such a backward woman – and pulled out what he'd learned was her favorite magic pen.

"It seems simple enough," she said, though her brow furrowed as she read. "Names of parties involved – um, well, okay, maybe not so simple," she sighed, then looked at him. "What am I supposed to put down for you, Leo the Lion? Yeah... that would go over really well. We'd probably get kicked out of here."

He chuckled at her disgruntled words and adjusted his tie a little. "I go by the name Loke _Lionheart_ here, princess."

"Lionheart, huh?" she mused. Then she smiled and shrugged. "It fits."

"I'm glad you think so, since it's what you'll be known by from now on as well, _Lucy_ Lionheart _._ "

She flushed at that, but looked shyly pleased nonetheless as she wrote both their names in the boxes provided. Then she stopped as she read over the next question, and promptly face-palmed in deepening exasperation. "Ugh."

Loke arched a brow at her, bemused by her actions. "Lucy?"

"Next up on the 'how the hell do I answer that?' list - date of birth?" she quipped, her voice muffled behind the hand still pressed to her face.

Lips twisting thoughtfully, the lion considered the question. "Well... I could _sorta_ answer that, but I don't think they'd be very amused by _that_ answer, either."

Looking curious, Lucy met his gaze. "So how old are you, then?"

"You probably don't really want to know," he decided, shaking his head. "Why don't we just say I'm a year or two older than you, and leave it at that. Physically, at least, that's what I look like. I guess you could say I'm the stellar equivalent of around eighteen or nineteen, so it fits well enough."

The blonde scrunched her face up, about to protest, but then let it go after thinking about it. What else could she do? He was most likely right, she realized. She probably _didn't_ want to know.

"Alrighty, then," she said, writing in their answers. "You'll be two years older than me, at least on paper." She quickly skimmed the form, checking for any more hard-to-answer questions, and was relieved not to find anything too worrisome. "Occupations... Fairy Tail mages for both those, easy enough. Place of residence, Magnolia Town, Fiore," she continued on, muttering to herself as she quickly filled in the rest of the relatively short form.

Her husband-to-be just watched her, utterly relaxed for the first time in a long while as he folded his arms over his chest and let his mind wander right back to certain upcoming events. Like his wedding night... again. (Hey, he was male – he couldn't help it. Besides, he needed to plan it out at least somewhat – it would be a very special first for them and he wanted the both of them to remember it forever.)

"And done!" she said triumphantly a few minutes later, smiling over at the man she was about to register a marriage with. "Ready?"

Loke nodded emphatically, yanking his mind back from his rather steamy thoughts – at least out in front. "Absolutely, princess," he grinned devilishly. "Are you?"

With that expression on she knew exactly what he'd been thinking, and she smacked his knee under the table warningly with a deep blush. "Behave, Loke, or there won't _be_ a wedding night for you," she grumbled under her breath. "I'll make you wait."

He heard her, though, and his unholy grin only deepened, but, "If you say so, my love," was all he said in reply.

Lucy stood with a mild huff. "Lecher," she shook her head. "Come on, let's get this done – I'm pretty sure the break is almost over and I need to get back to the team. They're probably worried anyway, since we kind of just disappeared from the arena, you know?"

The lion prowled along behind her as she walked up to the clerk again and handed her the form, everything inside him clenching tight with excitement. All that paper needed was the official seal of Fiore, and then the woman he adored would be _his_ by all mortal laws.

His eyes flashed with a dangerous glee as the clerk harrumphed on finding everything in order and when she demanded the twenty jewel fee, he handed it over with alacrity. She scowled as she took the money, then grudgingly stamped the document with the seal, making it official.

Loke Lionheart, the spirit of the celestial lion, leader of the zodiac, and Fairy Tail mage was now married to Lucy Heartfilia, his beloved and very desirable master. He'd finally gotten her right where he wanted her, she was his - only and always his - and he didn't know how he was _ever_ going to contain his complete jubilation at that one simple fact.

~~LoLu~~

"What are we going to tell the others?" Lucy fretted as she and Loke walked back to Domus Flau hand-in-hand.

"The truth," her brand-new husband shrugged. "I'm not about to hide the fact that I finally managed to snag the object of all my affections... and fantasies," he tacked on with a naughty wink.

"Be serious," she pouted, rolling her eyes. Inwardly, though, she was still freaking out. _I'm married now! My name isn't Lucy Heartfilia anymore, it's Lucy Lionheart! And later..._ she immediately put the brakes on those thoughts, because they'd just end up getting her in trouble. Later was for, well... _later._ Right now there were quite a few hours between now and later, so she needed to keep her wits about her and her thoughts off of her entirely too-sexy husband and what was still to come - for her own peace of mind.

Something occurred to her, then. "Oh! We forgot about rings!"

Loke glanced down at their entwined hands and blinked in blank surprise, then cleared his throat. When she looked up at him, he tugged her to a stop and smiled. "I can take care of that right now." He held up his free hand, and a small box coalesced slowly in his palm.

Her eyes widened, and she gasped as he tugged his other hand gently from hers and opened the box to reveal the most beautiful engagement and wedding ring set she'd ever seen in her entire life. There was _no way_ that had been made here in the human realm. The bands of both were a beautiful shade of the lightest gold she'd ever seen, yet it was the gem in the center of the engagement ring that caused her to look up at Loke with awe.

It was such a deep, midnight blue that it was almost black. But what glowed with pure light within it was the heart of the lion, Regulus, and it almost seemed to pulse silently with a heartbeat all its own. It was like Loke had taken the slice of the heavens where the stars that made up his heart-system ruled and encapsulated it within the stone. On either side of the main jewel sat two separate gems that looked like diamonds, yet they seemed to catch the sunlight in a manner even a diamond didn't, scattering flashes of brilliant prismatic color around her. He took the engagement ring out of the box first, and she touched one of them with wonder.

"Those are celestial stones, you could say," he chuckled lightly as she looked up at him. "They're called *Moissanite, and they aren't native to Earthland. The only time they _are_ found here is from a fallen star." Then he passed a finger over the main stone, and looked proud. "And this, of course, is a magical representation of the heart of the lion, the *Regulus system." His eyes smiled at her and he took up her left hand, sliding the beautiful piece of jewelry gently onto her ring finger. Then he picked up the wedding band and slipped it on behind.

Lucy was a little surprised to feel both rings tighten down on her as they slid into place – not painfully, but becoming a perfect fit. "Oh!"

"They won't come off on their own, nor can anyone take them from you."

"They're beautiful, Loke!" she mumbled into his shoulder after she threw herself into his arms. Then she drew back, her brow furrowed in mild consternation. "But what about you?"

The lion chuckled and tweaked her chin. "Not a problem, babe." He reached down with his right hand and slid the gold ring he usually wore on the middle finger of his left hand off, and moved it down one finger. He grinned as it tightened down on him with a flare of light at his silent vow of love, protection, and fidelity to his wife. "See? And like yours, mine can never be removed from that finger now, either."

Lucy returned his grin, then grabbed his arm and hurried in the direction of the arena. "No more delays. That takes care of everything for right now."

"Well, I still haven't gotten a first kiss, you know," Loke teased. "Maybe we should stop and take care of that, too."

"Listen, casanova," Lucy began ominously, her eyes narrowing as she glanced back at him, "there's no time for that right now! And besides, I'm not kissing you the way I know you mean out here on the street! What kind of girl do you take me for?"

Casanova? The celestial spirit cringed at that rather unwelcome reminder of his past as a playboy, not wanting such reminders at all, let alone on this of _all_ days. "Calm down, Lucy-love," he mollified her. "I'm only kidding you. I'd much rather have our first kiss later this evening - when we have the rest of our firsts, and in private. Honestly," he muttered to himself, "I'm fairly certain I'd be unable to restrain myself until tonight if I _did_ kiss you now, so it's just better all around to wait until later." _But damn,_ _later_ _better hurry the hell up,_ Loke thought with a grimace. He'd _been_ restraining himself for too long already, and he just wasn't sure how much more he could really take.

 _Damn these Grand Magic Games anyway. I can't wait 'til they're over!_

~~LoLu~~

Loke grinned theatrically as he preceded Lucy into her team's booth ten minutes or so later and their friends all turned to look at them with curious expressions. He held a graceful hand up for his lady, and she took it with a blush at the odd looks being cast at them. His eyes twinkled – he was going to take a _great_ deal of pleasure in this!

"Allow me to introduce myself," he began, as the others suddenly looked confused and concerned – was there something wrong with him? - and he shook his head, his grin widening into an expression of face-splitting glee. "I am Loke Lionheart, and this-" he indicated his vividly flushed master, "is my lovely wife, Lucy Lionheart."

A dead silence fell as he finished, everyone's eyes practically bugging out of their heads and mouths gaping open. He had no doubts someone was going to come across with a comment about him making such a thing up out of whole cloth, so he tugged her left hand up with his and showed off their rings, instantly alleviating any concerns that he was just making flirtatious and untrue statements.

Besides, Lucy's shy smile and pink cheeks gave the truth away all by itself. If it _weren't_ true, she'd have clobbered him and denied it by now.

"So-" Erza finally spoke into the stunned quiet as the entire group stared in awe at the newlyweds, "-why don't you explain this... situation." Titania didn't like being caught off-guard by things much, and she had _definitely_ been blindsided by that news.

The couple exchanged looks, and Loke laughed lightly and shrugged. "She gave me a chance, an opening, and I took it. Now she's mine."

"And you're mine," she grinned unrepentantly.

"I was always yours," he corrected with a half-smile and a wink at her contagious happiness.

The red-head blinked at the byplay. "That explains nothing but that you were waiting for such a chance."

"I've _been_ waiting," Loke answered casually, hands now in his pockets as he smiled with easy affection at Lucy. "I've loved her for a while. I don't know for sure when it happened, but it was probably the night she kept me from vanishing forever with her passion and power, and her refusal to back down from what she felt was right even in the face of Seirei-o. I was just too stupid to see it for what kind of love it really was, there at first."

"I see," Erza replied slowly as she thought about what she'd been told. Finally... "I suppose all that's left to say is that you'd better never hurt her, or I'll be forced to hunt you down - and congratulations."

The lion couldn't help but laugh at Titania's warning-slash-felicitations, and shook his head. She was such a strange woman sometimes but so very loyal, and he hoped she never changed. "I promise, and thank you, Erza," he acknowledged both congratulations and threat with a small, if somewhat dry bow.

She nodded with a faint smile.

Elfman was next to get his approbation in. "Loke's a MAN!" he shouted joyfully with a fistpunch to the air as excited chatter burst out around them and Cana raised her flask in a shouting counterpoint - now that Erza had been appeased.

Lucy giggled - a little hysterically - at that one. "He'd better be," she choked out, "or-"

"Or come tonight there's going to be a problem," Loke interjected in a deep purr, with a very intimate and seductive look at her that sent her heart-rate through the roof and her face up in flames.

"Loke!" she squealed, slapping her hands over her cheeks and frowning at him in embarrassment at his boldly desirous words and expression.

Erza blushed like a tomato as well and was about to say something, when Gray jumped in with, "Already thinking ahead to the important parts, eh?" and a knowing laugh.

Lucy gasped at the ice-make wizard's words, but just as she was about to put her hands on her hips and take both guys to task, a certain pink-haired fire mage got his in. And that was when things went from just embarrassing to, 'I want to sink into the floor and disappear forever, and oh, by the way, I'm going to kill you, Natsu,' territory in a heartbeat.

"Does this mean that if Luce's clothes disappear in a fight again like they always seem to, we can't stare at her anymore?"

The now-infuriated celestial mage never got the chance to let loose on the pervert for that one, because Loke cold-cocked him into the floor so fast the dragon-slayer never even saw it coming before he was out like a light. Then he looked at the other guys - most especially at Gray, who was on a lot of jobs with Lucy because they were on the same team - and held up his still-glowing fist.

"You have anything clever to add to that?" he glared narrowly at his friend.

The dark-haired man just chuckled and shook his head. Then he glanced at a still red-faced Lucy. "Nope, I'm good. I'd like to stay awake, thank you very much."

Elfman nodded solemnly in agreement, a slight blush on his cheeks at the slayer's antics.

"Good." Loke let his power fade back to sleep and looked at Erza, who was still eyeing Natsu's unconscious form as though she were considering whether to beat him some more, out cold already or not. He smirked and then glanced over at his wife (he didn't think he could _ever_ think or say that enough to get used to it, it sounded so damn good) and had to laugh at the same expression on her face. "Looks like he's in for some more when he wakes up," he said with gratification.

"And you look so satisfied with that fact," Gray snickered as he clapped his friend on the back.

"There'll be a lot _more_ satisfaction from me if he keeps his eyes to himself," the lion sniffed, pushing his sunglasses back up. "If I ever have to peel them off of her, he's going to be hurting. Badly."

The other man just laughed, and the noise in Team A's viewing box tapered down a little as the friends joked and talked comfortably with each other for the rest of the day. And meantime, Loke was busily planning out the rest of the evening's activities – but not just the wedding night, as some might suspect, considering the source. He still had a bonding to get Lucy through, and that was going to be a _great_ deal more important than their earlier elopement had been.

He smiled to himself as he watched his wife showing off her rings, laughing, and talking animatedly with their nakama. She was so glowingly happy, and he could hardly _wait_ to be able to feel her in such an intense and permanent way as what would come to be after the bonding and sharing of his power.

In his eyes, after all, this day had been far too long in arriving, and for a time he'd held little hope that it ever would at all.

Now he'd never have to worry about it again.

~~LoLu~~

A/N: I just can't seem to stop writing this ship... Wow, I really have a thing for Loke, lol. Gotta give him what he wants, and what he wants is Lucy. So here in my little Fairy Tail sub-universe of fluff, he can have her.

*Moissanite are real stones that are named after Henri Moissan, who discovered them, and are made of silicon carbide. They look like diamonds but have a slightly higher refraction value and so sparkle a little more vividly. They are not _usually_ native to our planet, being found either at meteorite crash sites or as inclusions in diamonds, and so are incredibly rare in their natural state. Most Moissanite found today in jewelry are lab-created, and because of their similar hardness to diamonds, are often used in place of them for technological applications. Diamonds are a 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, moissanite is a 9.5 on the same scale.

For the purposes of this story, take it as read that on _Earthland_ , these stones are _never_ found naturally.

*The star collectively known as Regulus isn't actually a single star, but a multiple star _system_ comprised of four main-sequence stars. The dominant Regulus-A is a blue-white star, and its companion is thought to be a white-dwarf. (It has not yet been directly observed because it is so faint.) Regulus B, C, and D are dim main-sequence stars.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part II**

~~LoLu~~

Loke's tension, which had been deepening all afternoon, crested when the announcement came that the games were thankfully over for the day. He could barely hold himself back from grabbing his gorgeous wife and disappearing, but it only took a moment's thought to realize that it would probably be better to wait a little while longer. The corridors and exits would be terribly crowded, and they'd be stuck in the mess if they left now. It would actually end up being quicker to wait.

He sighed inwardly, but while he was kind of frustrated at the way the afternoon had seemed to drag, he was unable to truly mind, because this had been the best day of his entire life. And as old as he was, that was really saying something. At least he knew he would never forget any of it – everything that had happened was so vivid in his mind that there was no way it could ever just fade away, no matter how many years passed.

His attention centered on his surroundings again when Cana addressed him. "Yo, Loke! You have to come back with us to the inn we're all at so we can tell everyone else about you two and have a party!"

Intercepting a disconcerted look from Lucy, he demurred with a smile. "Actually, Cana, she and I have something else to take care of this evening. We'll have to take a rain-check on the party idea."

The liquored-up woman rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, you perv! It's a little early to be getting to the main action _already_. It's not even dark yet!"

Loke eyed his blushing wife and winked lasciviously at her, then laughed at her flustered reaction and looked at the brunette. "No, that's not what I was talking about. And you're calling me the perv, huh? You're the one whose mind was in the gutter, it seems." He shook his head in amusement at her unrepentant grin. "It's just that while Lucy and I _are_ married by Fioran law, we aren't yet bonded by spirit world ones, and that's what we need to take care of next."

Gray, who'd been fairly quiet up until this point, looked interested, as did Erza. "You have weddings in the spirit world?" he asked.

"Not weddings, bondings. The concept is similar, I suppose, but the spirit world bonding is... a much deeper tie than a simple human ceremony could ever provide." He smiled over at Lucy, sheer happiness glowing in his hazel eyes for everyone to see despite his ever-present sunglasses.

"What do you mean?" Erza asked, her interest deepening at his words and the look in that heated gaze that was pinned to her blonde teammate.

Lucy spoke up then, her voice soft as she smiled back at Loke. "Can we tell them or is it some kind of secret?"

Sticking his hands in his pockets, the spirit leaned his shoulder against the wall. "Go ahead, babe, tell them if you want. Besides-" he shrugged, "-they'd eventually figure it out anyway, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," she replied with a sheepish laugh, having temporarily forgotten the no-aging or dying thing. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Hey, it's all new to you. Don't feel bad for not thinking of it, princess."

She nodded decisively, took a deep breath, and looked at their friends, who had all fallen silent for the second time that day and were once more staring at her and her handsome lion.

"Okay, well, it's like this," she began, "Loke asked me if I would be willing to do the spirit world bonding as well as get married here, because that way I... umm-"

"That way I won't ever have to lose her," her husband interposed when it became clear that she wasn't certain how to say it. "And by 'ever', I mean _for_ ever. The bonding will implant a tiny bit of my true power in her, meaning she won't age... or die." His glee at that fact was quite clear - he really _wanted_ her to be his forever, and it was impossible not to see that.

Widening eyes from all around them gave away their friends absolute shock at that statement. The stellar spirit wasn't particularly surprised by that, though – that certainly was _not_ something that you heard every day, after all.

Oddly, or maybe not, it was Natsu that broke the silence this time. "Wait a minute. You're not planning on taking her away to live in the spirit world, are ya? We're her nakama – we don't want to lose her!"

"No, no," Loke pacified the hot-headed dragon-slayer with a chuckle as his wife sent a teary, affectionate smile to the pink-haired teen. "We already talked about it. Nothing's really going to change as far as the guild is concerned. Lucy will continue to live here in your world, I'll just be around pretty much all the time from now on. I guess you could say I'll be living here for the most part, only going back to keep my strength from being depleted, then returning. But when she's ready, probably many, many years from now, she'll move with me into the spirit world on a permanent basis. I wouldn't take her away from her nakama, Natsu," he assured the young man. "I know you guys love her, too."

"How do you perform the bond?" Gray asked, once Loke'd finished assuring them that they wouldn't be losing one of their most beloved friends.

He straightened and glanced out the door, noting that most of the crowd seemed to be gone finally, and grasped Lucy's hand in preparation to leave. "I'll request Seirei-o's presence, and he'll be the one to actually perform the bonding."

"Wait, you're going to have Seirei-o appear here on Earthland?" Erza asked, her brow furrowed. "Won't that be rather... noisy?"

"Possibly. But don't worry, he's not Natsu-" he grinned at the dragon-slayer, who huffed and folded his arms over his chest as everyone laughed at that dig, "-so Crocus should be safe."

"I'm not that bad," the teen pouted.

"The heck you aren't!" Lucy sputtered. "How much rent money have you cost me because of your destructive tendencies again?"

That was followed by more laughter, and Loke said, "We're going to take our leave now. I guess we'll see you all tomorrow. Oh, and would you guys mind keeping this a secret until we can tell everyone ourselves? I would like to have the chance to brag about my good fortune for myself, if you don't mind." He waved cheerfully and then tugged his little wife behind him as he exited the booth to the tune of agreements, catcalls, and lewd comments about the upcoming night – and Elfman's shouted statement about wedding nights being 'manly'.

Of course.

~~LoLu~~

"So where are we going?" Lucy asked as Loke guided her through the still-excited people surrounding Domus Flau and crowding the nearby streets.

He glanced down at her, then back up, his eyes scanning for something. "I think it would be best if we took this outside of Crocus itself, don't you? It might give the people here a fright they won't soon forget if Seirei-o showed up right in the city."

The young woman shuddered. "Yeah, that would be messy. But it's going to take a while to walk far enough away for it not to make a difference."

"And that's why we're going to be taking a carriage. I have no intentions of spending my wedding night walking back into town, only to arrive just in time for tomorrow's rounds of competition. I have much, much more... _enjoyable_ plans for this night, my love," he said playfully enough, though Lucy was more than aware that he really wasn't teasing, and she shivered at the reminder of what was now looming on her horizon.

Her long-anticipated wedding night.

She'd wondered since she'd learned about marriage and sex what such a night would be like. For a long time, living in the mansion with her father and the servants she'd begun to fear it, because she'd seen some of the prospective husbands her sire had approved of. To say they were hideous was an understatement – all of them interested in way more than just her 'personal' assets, and probably not a one that would have cared much about whether she enjoyed her wedding night or not. As long as they got theirs, that was all that would matter.

Then she'd broken free of her father's fist and made a life for herself far away from him and all his horrid plans, and suddenly, there were a great many prospective future husbands to look at. And it would be _her_ choice that would matter, not her father's or anyone elses.

However, never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined _this._

Loke. Of all people, she had to go and fall in love with a _player_. The fact that he wasn't human hadn't ever mattered at all to her, but that he was – or had been – a casanova boyfriend to most of the girls in Magnolia? Yeah, that had mattered. So she'd kept him at a bit of a distance, always pushing off his blandishments – and not really believing them, anyway. After all, he was just like every other guy out there – simply interested in getting what he wanted from a girl, right? What he wanted wasn't her heart, though, just the most likely very _temporary_ use of her body. Like she was an object to be used and then discarded.

But... he had changed a great deal since she'd met him, and he'd more than proven it with his words and actions today. She'd always heard that prospective grooms were nervous and twitchy, and often had to be restrained from running off. When it came right down to it, they didn't want to lose their freedom. Loke wasn't acting like that at all, and hadn't from the moment this had started with her in that wedding dress at the games. He'd been so _excited_ from the instant she'd tacitly agreed to marry him, beaming with so much joy that Lucy had begun to wonder how his face didn't hurt. His smile had only gotten brighter when she'd agreed to the spirit world bonding, as well.

And his happiness hadn't faltered once since then. He was so delighted by the idea of being bonded with her, not seeming to care at all that he was losing his bachelor status and freedoms for eternity. In fact, considering how permanent the spirit world binding was, she was amazed _any_ of the male spirits were willing to go through with it, let alone so enthusiastically. Forever was, well... a really long time. Most men shied as far away from commitment as they could get, especially one like _that_.

"Hey... you know, it just occurred to me to wonder. Has a spirit ever uh, bonded with a human before?" she asked.

Loke glanced down at her and nodded. "Once before. Actually, come to think of it, you'll have a human companion in the spirit world when you're ready to move there. Lupus bonded with a woman a couple thousand years ago, now. She's a sweetheart, you'll love her."

"Lupus? The wolf?" At his nod, she smiled. "Wow. It'll be neat to meet them."

Just then Loke seemed to catch sight of what he'd been looking for, and grasped her hand a little tighter as he picked up his pace. Lucy realized a moment later what had drawn his attention, and her eyes widened and sparkled up at her groom.

"When you said carriage, I didn't really expect, well... this," she gestured, indicating the fancy open carriage that was drawn by a matching pair of white horses. Not that she was complaining, because there were several other nearby carriages that would have worked equally as well to get them to their destination – but not in such style. "It's so romantic, but you don't have to," she whispered.

He squeezed her hand with a soft look down at her, then paid the driver the necessary jewel for his services for a couple of hours. Once that business was taken care of, he held his hand out for his bride, and when she placed hers within it, kissed it lingeringly and then helped her up into the low carriage. He followed and sat down next to her, pulling her gently into his side and wrapping an arm around her.

Loke sighed in contentment – this was the closest he'd really been able to be to her all day, besides the time he'd carried her earlier. But that was different – he'd carried her a few times before, after all. This was... new. Now he was holding her to him in a much more intimate fashion than ever before, because he _could_. And it felt better than he'd ever imagined it would. All the dreams and fantasies he'd had of her practically since he'd met her had finally led them to this day, this moment – and to an eternity filled with more hope and happiness than he'd ever believed possible before.

That was why he was currently so contented. Of course he still had the night to look forward to, and yes, his insides clenched with excitement whenever he thought about it, but right now in _this moment,_ he finally truly understood the word 'contentment' for the first time in his life.

He was perfectly at peace.

He smiled as Lucy sighed softly and leaned her head against his chest, cuddling into him, and he tilted his head down and laid it against hers affectionately. He took hold of her hand with his and twined their fingers together, absently stroking the delicate skin of her wrist as they both watched the sky. It was almost sunset, and this one was particularly beautiful, the skies lit with brilliant color that slowly leached away to softer tones as the daylight waned and the night took over the heavens once again.

"I wanted to," he finally answered her earlier statement about the carriage. "You deserve this – no," he cut himself short as he looked back down at her in all seriousness, "we _both_ deserve this. This day's special for me, too. I never thought I'd end up getting married _or_ bonded, never found anyone that would even make me want to until I met you – so this is as much a first for me as you. I never want to forget today, just as I hope you never do, so call me a romantic if you want – I'm not like most guys and scared of that word. I don't mind at all."

It fell quiet after that for a few minutes, though Loke wasn't concerned – he could feel that she just didn't know what to say because she was so happy. He could understand that. But when her mood began to become a bit darker, he noticed immediately.

"What's wrong, princess?" he asked, his voice warm and consoling as he continued to stroke her wrist with gentle fingertips.

Lucy leaned back away from him and met his concerned gaze, her own worried. "Loke, what's going to happen when we do go... there?" she asked. "I mean... I'll have to give up all your keys, and I'm afraid you'll end up with bad keyholders after that." And then something else seemed to occur to her, and she hissed, going red and angry in an instant as her hands clenched in his shirt, surprising him. "What if you get some hussy next, and she tries to order you to... to... _please_ her?! No! No way! If that's what's going to happen, I'll just keep living here so that I never have to give up your key, or any of my other friends!"

"Lucy-love, calm down," Loke chuckled, though he was more than pleased with her little possessive display. "First of all, my contract says what I want it to say. If I did end up in a situation like that – which I won't – then all I'd have to do would be to remind them of the contract terms, and that those sorts of things aren't part of said contract. If they tried to force the issue, that would be the same as them breaking the contract themselves, and it would immediately be terminated according to spirit world law, freeing me. Second, who said anything about you having to give up your keys, anyway, hm?" he grinned slyly as he waited for her to catch on.

Her eyes widened. "What?" she whispered, her fingers loosening from their stranglehold on his shirt in her surprise.

He shrugged. "Unless there's a situation like there was with Karen, most spirit mages keep their keys until death. Since you won't be dying..." he trailed off mischievously. "That's why Lupus' key hasn't been found since he bonded with his mage – because she still has it. And Cygnus' key, as well. In a way, you've freed all of us – all of those whose keys you hold will never have to worry about an unkind master again."

Lucy was totally stunned. She had never expected... never expected... "Seriously?" she asked, her lower lip wobbling a little.

"Seriously," he smiled.

The lip wobbled harder. "But now I feel so guilty."

He blinked, not getting it. "Why on earthland would you feel guilty?" he asked, astounded. Just what the hell mental leap had she taken to arrive at 'guilty' of all the things she could feel?

"Well, look at all the other spirits whose keys I don't have! It's not fair that they're still stuck with whoever they get. There's got to be some way to save them, too!"

He froze, and then _... Dammit, Lucy!_

Loke's throat tightened and he just stared at her. Every time. Every _damn_ _time_ this woman was able to do this to him. She'd destroy him with a few beautiful words, and then build him right back up with new ones that were even more beautiful. Just when he thought he couldn't love her any more than he already did, she proved him wrong. He hoped it never ended. He pulled her back into his arms and held her tightly to his chest, still unable to speak even as she prodded at him worriedly because of the oddity of his reaction.

It took a few, but... "Every single time, Lucy," he finally managed to choke out fervently, his eyes shiny enough even in the shadowy starlight to show that he was fighting back tears. "Every time. You just _say_ these things that absolutely destroy me, and they're always so honest, so heartfelt and just plain _genuine_. And every time it happens, I fall that much more in love with you." He brushed gentle fingers across her cheek as he watched her there in the dim glow of the night, awestruck. "You're so _amazing_ , princess. I didn't believe that a human like you could ever exist, and yet here you are. I just... can't figure out why you're with a selfish bastard like me."

"Don't you say that about yourself," she whispered. "Don't ever say bad things about yourself, especially where I can hear you. It hurts my whole soul when you do that."

There she went again. Loke sighed deeply after a moment, inwardly praising his luck in winning her heart. He smiled at her and nodded, though he knew he was exactly what he'd named himself – selfish. Selfish as hell.

Before anything else could be said, the carriage slowed and the driver called politely back to them.

"You said you wanted a nice, secluded meadow out of sight of the city, sir – is this sufficient?"

Loke looked up and then glanced around, and nodded to himself with a pleased expression. "This will do quite well. If you'll just wait for us over there," he added, pointing to a spot that would keep him out of sight of the open grassland behind an outcropping of rocks, the driver simply nodding in acquiescence as he climbed down from his seat to open the door for them both. "Thank you," he added once he and Lucy were standing on the ground again.

"Glad you like it," the man said, then climbed back into his seat and clicked his tongue at the horses, guiding them to the indicated place to await their customer's return.

It was a beautiful heath, just barely lit by the stars that were now out, with the dim glow of the early evening painting it in starlight and soft shadows. A slight breeze bent the grasses and flowers gently before it, sending a lovely medley of soft floral scents throughout, and the entire area was surrounded by hills that kept the city lights from ruining its ambiance.

It was remote, it was magical, and it was perfect.

 _Now,_ Loke thought with relief. _Now it's finally time._

 _Forever starts... now._


	3. Chapter 3

**Part III**

~~LoLu~~

A mischievous wind sprite darted past Lucy, tugging a lock of golden hair over her shoulder, and Loke brushed it back again with a gentle touch. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as she flushed and looked away.

"So shy now, yet earlier today you were so... forward. So demanding and sure of what you wanted. You are such an odd dichotomy sometimes, princess," he chuckled. "But so very beautiful." With a final laugh and shake of his head at her adorable reactions to his compliments, he once more caught her hand in his and tugged her forward, heading deeper into the moor.

"So what's going to happen now?" Lucy eventually asked as Loke ambled forward at a slow but steady pace.

The spirit of the stellar lion came to a halt in what looked to be the center of the meadow, then pulled her around to face him. He studied her, her features illuminated by the diamond lights of a billion stars and a still-low half moon, and glowing faintly with it. It left her eyes dark and mysterious, though, and to Loke, she'd never looked more like a celestial maiden than she did in that moment.

He smiled. She belonged in the heavens, and he would gladly make a place for her there at his side.

"I'll call upon seirei-o in a minute. Once he arrives he'll do the bonding, and that's it. It's simple, really. Much simpler than trying to figure out how to answer the questions on that marriage registration form from earlier," he chuckled wryly, remembering her annoyance with said form.

"This won't take long, then, will it?"

"No, not at all." His expression morphed suddenly, going devilish as a sharp grin took over the former soft smile. "Why? Have some plans for tonight that you're not willing to... put off?"

"Loke!" she reprimanded primly as she slapped a hand across his chest. "Sheesh... you never give it a rest, do you?"

He roared with laughter at that. "Nope. And especially not now, princess. You're all mine. If I want to flirt with you and compliment you, I will. Likewise, if I want to make love to you, I will. And saying that or even acting on it doesn't embarrass me at _all._ I'm shameless, babe... but only for you."

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Lucy finally sighed after getting her tongue under some semblance of control, "just get on with it before I change my mind. I think if I go through with this, I'll be insane after the first few hundred years with you. Either that, or a complete hussy," she muttered under her breath, her eyes irresistibly drawn to his handsome face and strong shoulders.

Even with most of his features in shadow and that suit of his hiding more of his frame than it outlined, he was unbelievably fit and gorgeous. _And if you want to make love to me, go right ahead – I'll never be able to say no to you._ She was so damn lucky. _Lucky Lady Lucy... it's sad that although I've been called that all my life, this is the first time it's actually been true._ "Yup. Crazy or a hussy," she reiterated softly.

She forgot about her lion's sharp hearing. His eyes went heavy-lidded and seductive. "I think I prefer the second option. As long as you're only acting like a hussy with me, of course." He eyed her, taking in her heightened breathing and warm flush with a pleased half-smirk, and then he turned away and held up his arm like he was about to use his ring magic.

Lucy's attention sharpened on him, and she watched with curious wonder as his fist lit up – though not with its normal warm, golden glow, but a hot, piercing blue-white that she quickly had to look away from. By squinting, she was able to see him lift his arm high into the air as a beam of that purest of lights shot up into the heavens, heading straight for a certain star in his constellation.

"Algieba: Mind's Eye - Summoning! I call to Seirei-o by the light of *Algieba to heed my request for audience!" he shouted, the force of his power bending the grasses against the wind and whipping the air currents around them into a frenzy. It was like being caught in a tornado.

Lucy was stunned. This was nothing like anything she'd ever seen from him, and she was abruptly aware of just how strong her lion really was. But when she actually stopped and thought about it, it made sense. The power of a single star alone would be enough to completely destroy their world – it would literally burn it to ash. But Loke wasn't just a star – he was a _constellation,_ the leader of the Zodiac, and all the more dangerous and potent for that. He'd even basically told her that same thing earlier in the day, when he'd mentioned that he wasn't able to use his full power here.

Now she knew why. If he ever unleashed everything he was capable of, there wouldn't be anything left of Earthland at all. Hell, he was probably only able to use an incredibly minuscule amount of his potential here without causing irreparable harm to the very fabric of their world.

 _Oh gods, Loke. You must have been in so much more agony than you ever let on when you were stuck here those three years and cut off from almost all of your strength. I can't even..._ Those thoughts were choking her up with pain, so she pushed them away determinedly. _It's okay now. That kind of thing will never happen to him again,_ she swore to herself. _Never again. This will make sure of it._

There came a peculiar snap in the air as an even greater power abruptly cut through Loke's like a knife - one Lucy had felt before. Everything just stopped for a moment, the sudden silence almost deafening her, and then the heavens seemed to reel as power that bled light like the sun slammed back down to the ground from the skies. When she was able to see again, Seirei-o stood before them.

"Leo, old friend!" the king said, a wide smile on his face. "You finally managed to persuade Lucy to your side, eh?"

 _Lucy? Since when does he call me by name? And wait a minute..._ "You knew?" she asked incredulously.

Seirei-o chuckled, the sound as gigantic as he. "Of course. I knew when I pardoned him that he would choose you. I could see it inside his heart – the entire Regulus system was fairly pulsing in time with your heartbeat. That's why I ordered him to stay with you and help you. To protect you with his life. I wanted to see him happy, then and now, and all I can say is that he could have chosen no better a companion to make that happen than you."

Loke grinned at Lucy. "See? I told you he'd approve."

The young woman then did something that neither male expected. She curtsied to the king, a graceful, elegant move that gave away her high-class upbringing clearly.

Even though Loke knew she'd grown up an heiress from a wealthy family, he'd never really _thought_ about it before, because Lucy was the least pretentious person he knew. In that moment, though, it was clear that she knew how to conduct herself – even in the presence of royalty. She had the bearing of a queen herself right then despite her casual dress, without being the least bit haughty.

When she rose from her curtsy, she said, "Thank you, Your Majesty," with a sober voice and perfect enunciation, and just like that, Loke was lost again. _She's marvelous, every part of her._

"She proves my words with her every action," Seirei-o stated then with a pleased expression, unknowingly echoing the stellar lion's thoughts. He looked at Loke, who could barely tear his eyes away from the young woman, and grinned again. "Come then," he said expansively, "let us get this bonding done before she realizes who she's about to tie herself to and decides to run instead."

Lucy giggled while Loke smiled ruefully. "I agree," he replied. "I can't have her getting away from me now. Not when I've finally got her in my clutches."

"Very well," the spirit king said then, all amusement leaching from his voice. Now he was nothing but serious, and Lucy swallowed hard.

This was it.

"Leo, face our old friend and take her hands in your own," the giant spirit instructed. Once Loke had done so, he continued. "Hold each other's gazes, and do not look away no matter what."

When both nodded, he raised his hands over their heads and a heated wind suddenly picked up as magic, ancient, alien, and powerful rained down from his hands into both of them.

Lucy was immediately swept away into a warm blue-white world of light, but before her wasn't Loke – at least, not as she was used to seeing him. Instead, a huge, lordly golden lion prowled forward on silent feet, eyes locked with hers. In some distant corner of her mind she felt like she should be afraid, but really she couldn't be, because she knew who he was. No matter his form, _her_ Loke still shone out of those hazel eyes that seared her with their depths. She stood still as he neared and then came to a stop before her. He watched her for several seconds, his eyes opaque, and then he reached forward with his blunt muzzle and nuzzled along her cheek very gently.

Eyes falling closed in bliss, she reached up and clutched at his wild mane, holding him to her as he purred for her. It was a deep, guttural sound, one that resonated all through her and left her tingling. After a few moments of that, he pulled back several steps as she let her arms fall away from him and caught her gaze with that glowing one of his – and then he lunged into her as Lucy locked her muscles and did her best not to scream in surprise. But this was still Loke, and she still trusted him. She always would. So she kept her eyes open as she felt the truest part of who _Leo_ really was rush through her very soul.

She could feel him. _Him_. All his pain, the different hells he'd been through in his existence, and all of his love for her. It was all there, and it was immense, so much to take in. His love, though... to him, that was everything. In those moments she felt what he felt, and she began to weep, a silent reaction to the brilliance and clarity of the emotions he felt for her.

It was beautiful and terrifying, holy and bright, and Lucy felt as she did when performing Urano Metria – filled with primeval and deadly power, and as though her consciousness were joined with the entire universe – only a million times better. She could even feel what Seirei-o had mentioned – Leo's heart-system pulsing in time to her own heartbeat. There was just so much _feeling_.

It had never before occurred to her to wonder what it would be like to have an entire constellation in love with her, but now there was no question left. It was overwhelming and stunning and so very pure, the depths of his adoration for her, the lengths he would go to for her.

He was not human in any way. _And she was so very glad that he wasn't._ She was one hundred percent certain that a human man wasn't capable of loving her in the way that she could feel Loke did. It was unconditional and unlimited devotion, plain and simple. He worshiped her; she was the most important thing in his world. And so all she could do was return his love and dedication with her own until they were both so wrapped up in each others hearts that nothing else in the entire universe mattered anymore.

Loke was just as caught up in the bonding as Lucy was. The joy and relief that came with knowing that he would never have to lose his light, his heart, was immense. What made it even better was that in going through with the bonding, his princess had proven her own devotion to him. And now he could feel it – feel everything that made his beloved who she was. All that she'd been through, the heartbreaking losses of her mother and then the father she'd just started to make up with before being sealed on Tenrou. The sadness she felt at being alone, the last member of the Heartfilia family, and her dedication to her new family – Fairy Tail.

But most of all, he could feel her _love_. Love not just for him, but for _everyone._ Her heart was even bigger than he'd already believed it was - it had to be endless, for in those moments that he was lost inside it, he could find no end to it. It held an entire universe inside it, and he found that he was at the very center of it.

And then, just as fast as it had started it was over, and Lucy and Loke found themselves back in the meadow in the hills above Crocus, still staring into each others eyes and with their hands tightly clenched together as they had been throughout their experience.

Lucy's so-far silent weeping changed then and she burst into noisy tears as it was all lost, as that intense connection dimmed. She grasped at her lion with desperate hands, afraid to lose what little seemed left of that closeness.

But as he pulled her into his arms and held her as she clutched tightly to the back of his suit jacket, purring consolingly for her, she realized that he wasn't really gone. The connection was still there, only muted now, pulsing slowly in the back of her mind. She could still feel him – nothing had been lost.

There was also a burning pain right above her left breast, where the spirit form of Loke had leapt into her.

"Are you alright?" he whispered softly in her ear after a few minutes.

She nodded against his chest, then pulled out of his embrace and looked down at where the burning feeling had now begun to fade, and her eyebrows shot into her bangs and she gasped.

"Y-you didn't mention anything about this, Loke," she said, looking up at him. She hadn't even noticed that Seirei-o had already disappeared – and truthfully, neither had her lion.

He was too busy staring at the spot she was pointing out in wonder.

"I... I didn't know about it," he replied absently as he reached a finger out to trace the new mark that had almost been seared into her skin. When she hissed a little, he drew back with a frown. "Does it hurt?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, not really. It's just a little tender now. But why didn't you know this would happen? Didn't you say that Lupus bonded with a human woman? Didn't she get his mark?"

Loke shrugged, smiling down at the sight of his symbol in black leached into her skin above her heart for everyone to see. "Probably, but Lupus and I aren't all that close, really. He's a good guy, don't get me wrong, it's just that we've never had the same keyholders, and so haven't spent much time around each other. I see he and his bonded around sometimes, like if there's a party they might show up, and we've talked some. Like I said earlier, his bonded is a sweetheart, I think you'll get along fine. But that's about all the contact we've had, so it's no surprise I didn't know. Seirei-o never mentioned anything like this, either."

"Oh," she breathed softly, reality coming back to her with a sudden slap to her metaphorical face. She looked around and realized then that Seirei-o had vanished and the bonding was now done, which meant... "Oh!"

"Yes, oh," Loke chuckled low in his chest at her flustered confusion as she stared at anything but him with cheeks that rivaled Erza's hair for hue. "You're mine now, Lucy. All mine – and the night is just beginning."

~~LoLu~~

Definitely in a daze from the promise in those iniquitous eyes of his, Lucy followed along behind Loke docilely, still in quite a bit of shock. After all, when she'd gotten up this morning and readied for a day of competition, she certainly hadn't had any idea that it would end this way.

Not that she was complaining, because oh, boy, was she not. She had the hottest guy she'd ever met as hers forever, so she definitely didn't have anything to object over – especially as she was the one that had precipitated today's events with her little backfired plan. Was she a little intimidated by the coming events, however? Oh, hell yes. After all, this was her first time and probably Loke's billionth by now, and that was a scary thought. That was a lot of competition, a lot of pressure. How did she know that she wouldn't disappoint him in the bedroom? She had no experience beyond a few kisses from the couple of guys she'd dated since leaving home.

But the moment those thoughts started causing her to tense up Loke stopped and turned to her, obviously feeling something of her disquiet through their new bond. He tipped her chin up to meet his gaze when she tried to avoid it, and studied her shadowed eyes solemnly. Then he shook his head gently at her.

"You have absolutely nothing to worry about in that regard – or any regard, for that matter. You turn me on so completely just by _existing_ , my princess... don't you know that by now?"

"L-Loke," she choked, her breath caught in her throat and her eyes trapped by the heat in his. It was a plea, a prayer, and a demand all in one, and the lion was simply unable to resist any longer. Here, in this darkened and beautiful place, he would finally let go of some of his control and take his first taste of his newly bonded and wedded wife.

"Never be afraid, Lucy," he said softly as he gently pulled her into his arms, shivering a little as she wrapped her arms around his neck and let her fingers play against his nape.

She tilted her head in confusion. "What?"

"When I'm holding you," he explained, "never be afraid."

Now it was her turn to study him, her eyes veiled and somber as she searched his for something. He knew when she found it, because she gifted him with a breathtaking smile and a simple, "Okay."

Damned if she hadn't just done it again; with one word, she'd broken him down into pieces once more. "Dammit, Lucy, you just keep _doing_ it," he rasped as he tugged her up a little to meet his greater height even as he leaned down to her. Pressing his forehead to hers, he closed his eyes to savor the moment. "With one word, you totally destroyed me. Just one!"

"Loke-"

"No! I mean it," he insisted vehemently. "You own me. And I'm not talking as a celestial spirit to his master. I'm talking as a man to a woman. _You-own-me_." His eyes opened suddenly and pierced into hers, stunning her and halting her breath in her lungs. "You just don't even know," he breathed then. "Even after sharing myself with you during the bonding, you still haven't realized how much I _yearn_ for you. Just to be in your presence is heaven for me – I never want to leave your side."

"I don't want to destroy you or own you like some piece of property," Lucy rebutted softly as she shook her head, her eyes a little sad. "That's not what I want at all. I just want to _love_ you."

Loke stilled as her devotion rose around him, keen and ardent. Heat filled him at that transcendental touch and overflowed into her, and he smiled achingly at her.

"Oh, it's okay, princess, because you immediately turn around and do or say something else, and build me right back up again. Like you just did with those words _._ And you see, every time it happens I get a little better, a little stronger, so don't think I mind. Everything good in my life has come because of you, my _precious_ _Lucy_ ," he groaned her name almost reverently, and she blushed.

Then, after a long, deep look into her eyes, he tilted his head and slowly leaned in the last little bit...

And took her lips with his own.

~~LoLu~~

*Algieba-Star in the constellation Leo, literally, 'forehead of the lion'. The 'mind's eye' is commonly referred to as the 'third eye', and is supposedly located in the center of the forehead, therefore I chose to use this star as the source of power for the summoning.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part IV**

~~LoLu~~

Loke's kiss was ethereal, yet the most real thing Lucy had ever felt. It was like a glancing touch by a butterfly's wings, barely there but like being struck by lightening at the same time, as every hair on her body stood on end.

It was _amazing_.

She melted. There was no other way to describe it. Her body just suddenly went limp and she would have collapsed to her knees if it weren't for her lion's strength.

He chuckled warmly right there against her lips at her reaction. "Mmm," he hummed into the kiss, breathing gently against her skin as he slid his slightly parted lips over hers. Her whole body shivered and she gasped, and he took advantage of that to deepen the kiss in a small way, sliding his tongue over her bottom lip and rumbling deep in his chest as a foreshadowing of her taste burst across his senses.

Lucy moaned, a bare exhalation over Loke's mouth, and it was his turn to shiver. He tugged her closer, sliding his hands down her back and somehow managing to wrap himself even tighter around her. Nipping gently at her now swollen bottom lip, he pulled on it a little and then suckled at the tender morsel softly.

Then he tilted his head, nipped a bit harder at her flesh, and slipped his tongue inside her mouth as her lips parted on a sharply drawn breath at the feel of his sweet bite - and the shock of exhilaration it sent darting down her spine.

The world narrowed to just the two of them and the wet, heated contact between their mouths.

The way this man kissed was fatal to a woman's heart and mind. No wonder he'd had so many women after him – who could have him once and not come back for more? No kiss had ever affected her this way... but then again, she'd never had a kiss like _this._

Loke tasted her lazily, as though he had all the time in the world just to savor her. Not one movement was wasted, every touch and pass of his tongue was precise and practiced, yet somehow unbearably ardent all at once. He delved ever more deeply into her mouth with a relishing sound, his tongue curling around hers and stroking, then withdrawing some with a teasing flick against the roof of her mouth, before returning to the deeper caresses.

One hand dipped just a little lower on her back when she moaned into his mouth again, the sound much stronger this time. His other one petted over her tiny waist and flared hip, then down a sleek thigh, before sweeping up over her ass to come to rest on her back again. He pressed his hips closer into her, and Lucy ripped her mouth from his and gave a throaty cry, almost climbing up his body to welcome him at the feel of his hardened groin pressing hotly against her center.

Loke very nearly lost it as his vision went white. She was so _passionate,_ like a living flame, and he was about to explode just from her proximity.

The lion was forced to inhale sharply just to get enough air to his brain to at least somewhat counteract the sudden loss of blood, and he knew it was time to call a halt. He'd thought he'd be able to control himself better than that, but she was quickly proving otherwise. If he didn't put a stop to things that very instant he'd end up taking her right there on the ground, and he didn't want that. At least not for their first time. No... he had plans for the night ahead and he wasn't willing to relinquish them, no matter how desperately he wanted her.

Pressing his forehead to hers, Loke closed his eyes and began forcibly slowing his breathing and calming his excitement. It was much more difficult than it had ever been before, but he wasn't really surprised by that. Experiences with other girls had been pretty generic and often ordinary, but Lucy wasn't 'other girls' - and she had _never_ been ordinary.

He could feel her panting against him as she also tried to regain her breath, but when he finally opened his eyes and pulled his head back a little to look at her, she looked confused and a maybe a tiny bit uncertain.

"Why did you stop?" she asked, loosening her legs from around him and sliding back down onto her feet.

He chuckled and shook his head with a wryly reproachful expression on his face as he assisted her to stand. "Not for the reasons _you're_ obviously thinking from the look on your face, princess. I believe I mentioned earlier this evening that I had plans for tonight, and consummating our bond out here in the grass isn't part of them."

Lucy blinked. Then looked around. And then she flushed. "Oh," she said dumbly, terribly embarrassed to have forgotten herself so far as to almost have her first time in the dirt without even a blanket to lay on.

Loke cracked up. He just couldn't help it. She was so adorable with that disconcerted look on her face as she realized what had almost happened between them right there under the open skies. "Lucy, my love, if you don't stop blushing soon you're going to be permanently red-faced," he teased between chuckles.

"Stop harassing me," she pouted, and her lion's laughter softened.

"If you insist, princess," he smiled. Then he grabbed her hand and tilted his head in the direction they'd left the carriage. "C'mon. Let's get out of here, Mrs. Lionheart. Before I decide to just forego my earlier plans despite myself and jump you right out here under the stars."

They left the meadow to the sound of her shaky chastisements and his renewed laughter.

~~LoLu~~

The carriage ride back into Crocus was quiet for the most part, Lucy nervous and Loke watching her avoid his eyes with fond amusement. He didn't say anything, not wanting to make matters worse for his little bride, but it was a bit difficult to restrain himself.

She was just so much fun to tease.

However, being alone on his wedding night wasn't what he was looking for, so he resisted the urge and simply cuddled her into his side, knowing that if he continued to push the teasing, her nerves combined with her frustration at the ribbing would end with him most likely sleeping on the floor. Alone. And that simply could not be allowed to happen.

Unbeknownst to his little wife, he'd already reserved the nicest room at the inn where the guild had been staying when they'd gone there so she could change earlier. It was actually its own small cottage set a little away from the rest of the inn, with a very nice bath-house just outside the cottage on a deck facing away from the rest of the rooms. It wasn't perhaps what he'd have preferred for this special a night, but with the GMG still going on he and Lucy couldn't really get away for much of a wedding night - or honeymoon, for that matter.

But after the games... oh, then it was on. They would be spending at _least_ a week at a beach-side resort, if not two.

At any rate, when they arrived he would have Lucy gather her things from the room she'd been sharing with Erza and Cana with the assistance of one of the employees, while he slipped out to the small cottage and set the extremely complicated spell he'd been working on for months now in place. It was early enough that most of the guild-members were likely still down in the bar the inn sported, which was in the basement, so he was hopeful that they could sneak in under the radar. He really didn't feel like delaying this once-in-a-lifetime night for _both_ of them for all the questions that would be thrown at them should they be spotted. Explanations could wait for tomorrow – tonight was for him and his bride.

He felt her shiver and looked down. "Cold, sweetheart?" he murmured.

"Not really, I was just thinking," she replied softly, her eyes seemingly far away.

"About what?" If at first he was inclined to tease her about having a dirty mind, considering what would be happening between them in the - very – near future, a second thought talked him out of it. She wasn't blushing, so whatever she was thinking was serious.

"I was just... wishing that my mother could have been there to see the bonding. I think she would have been proud of me, but... it would still have been nice to know for sure, and to be able to share that with her," Lucy explained slowly. "And I'm sad that almost all of my life will be lived without her there to see any of it."

Loke shifted in the seat and stretched his legs out a little, then crossed them at the ankles as he tugged his sweetheart into his side a little closer. After a few moments, he said, "I didn't know your mother, of course, but I've talked to Capricorn about her, and even Aquarius a little. Capricorn... well, quite simply put, he adored your mother. That's why he made the contract with her that he would watch over all of her descendants. And Aquarius loved her, you know that. If even that difficult woman admitted to something like that, then your mother had to have been an amazing person. So, I think that she would have been proud of everything you've done, and this not least of all."

"Why _this_ not least of all?" she asked, her head tilted as she eyed him curiously. She was just waiting for some sort of perverted comment, but what he said instead made her eyes fill with tears.

"Because a mother wants most for their child to be happy, right? You made a decision today to accept my love for you and to return it in kind. You're happy now, aren't you?"

Lucy nodded, eyes wide. _Well, actually, no I'm not happy, I'm ecstatic_. But whatever worked.

"Then she would be happy, and proud of you, too. Personally," he said with a small smile at her, "I think she should be the proudest mother that ever lived, to have created and then raised an amazing woman like you. That's just _my_ opinion, of course," he gave a wry, deprecating shrug. "I'll admit I'm terribly prejudiced on your behalf, but still..."

It took a few moments, but... "Oh, Loke," she finally managed with a wet little chuckle as she sniffled, "you are just nothing like I thought you were the first time I met you. You hid so much of yourself away beneath that player attitude that in the beginning I kind of felt like you were shallow, interested in nothing but... well... one thing. And I wasn't about to be disrespected like that, so I crossed you off the 'potentials' list almost right away."

Loke blinked. "Disrespected?" he asked bemusedly. _Potentials list?_ he added silently.

She gave him a _look_. "Yes, disrespected! When you would go and hit on a girl and feed her all those glib lines, it's not because you were really interested in her. You just wanted one thing, and all you were doing was using them and then discarding them when you'd gotten what you wanted. Like they were just an _object_ to be used and then thrown away when no longer needed."

 _I'd never... thought of it in that light before._ He blinked again, then pursed his lips as he pondered on what she'd said. _But I guess she's right. I wasn't trying to use anyone, I felt it was pleasure exchanged for pleasure between two consenting adults, but in the end, she's right. Because... I wasn't upfront with those girls, and let them think whatever they wanted so long as it got me what I was after. Huh... I really was an ass to all of those girls, wasn't I?_

"I see your point," he finally returned, then looked at her. "But did you really have to bring my past bad ways to mind tonight, love? I'd really rather concentrate on the fact that I got it right this time, if you don't mind. I can't change the past or the women that I've used, as you put it, all I can do is go forward with the knowledge that I'll never do it again."

Her eyes narrowed warningly at that. "You'd better not, Loke, or you'll end up a _gelded_ lion, are we clear?"

Now it was Loke's turn to shiver. That threat was not amusing in any way whatsoever. "Believe me, it _can't_ happen again even if I wanted it to - which if I had, bonding with you wouldn't have been possible."

"Eh?"

"If there had been any doubt, any desire for another woman, or even the least bit of hesitation at losing my bachelor status anywhere inside me, the bonding wouldn't have taken," he stated plainly. "For a spirit, a bonding must be completely whole-hearted, or it won't work."

"Oh," Lucy breathed, staring at him in awe. He hadn't mentioned that before – or at least not in so straightforward a manner. _Could_ this gorgeous man really love _her_ that much? Well, if so, who was she to argue? And then she remembered everything that had taken place during their bonding. She'd felt him, felt his emotions. So she just nodded. "Okay."

Just then, the carriage came to a stop right outside the inn, and the driver climbed down from his seat to open the door for them both. When Loke had assisted his wife down, he turned to the driver and gave him a nice tip. "Thank you for your assistance this evening. I hope you have an easy night." Then he thought of something, and asked, "I know you had to have seen the lights and heard what was going on out there, even though you were parked behind those boulders. Why didn't you react, or ask about it at all?"

The cabby shook his head and chuckled. "Been around mages and the like all my life. Actually, I'm a wizard myself, though I'm not very powerful. So you could say that I've gotten used to strange things. I don't bother to question anything anymore."

"Ah," Loke nodded. "That explains it. Well, as I said, thank you."

The man tipped his cap. "You're most welcome, you and your missus both." Then he climbed back up into his seat and clicked his tongue at the horses and flicked the reins, and the carriage moved off down the – mostly - quiet street.

Still holding possessively to the small hand he'd taken to assist Lucy from the carriage, the lion led his bride inside the building. Looking around until he spotted a young man in the uniform of the inn, he motioned him over. "If you would follow my wife-" the thrill of saying that made him feel so giddy! "-she needs assistance in gathering her things from her old room and moving to our new one."

"Uh, Loke, I don't know where the new room is," she replied.

"That's true." He glanced at the young man, who was openly ogling Lucy, and glared a little in warning. When the other guy looked away, Loke said, "We're in room seventy."

The man simply nodded, not looking at Lucy again. "Understood, sir. Ma'am, if you would lead me to your current room, I will assist you in transferring your belongings," nothing but professionalism in his voice now.

Loke nodded approvingly. That was how it should be. And it had better remain that way. If that boy made any comments or hit on Lucy and he found out, he'd be paying for damages because he'd knock the guy's head off after throwing him through a wall – or two.

 _Wow, getting possessive much?_ his conscience prodded him. _Yes, well I'm a lion and that's how we roll,_ he sniffed back. _Now that she's mine, she's off-limits to all other guys, just like I'm off-limits to any other women._ Speaking of... perhaps he ought to warn her about that. Now bonded, they would both become more protective of each other and possessive, as well. Now wasn't the time for that though, as Lucy was already leading the young man away.

Fingering the room key in his pocket like he'd been doing off and on since he'd rented the room, he turned and headed for the rear exit to the building. It didn't take but maybe a whole two minutes walk, but he hurried it, because what he was going to do was difficult and would temporarily drain him, and he wanted that part out of the way before his little master arrived. He would recharge fairly rapidly, however, so he wasn't worried about a lack of energy for the upcoming events.

Hell, he'd wanted her for so long, he'd rise from the dead just to have her.

Yes, it was kind of a morbid thought, but completely true nonetheless. The funny thing was, she'd saved him from just such a fate as that already once before. He'd been literally seconds from vanishing forever when she'd taken on Seirei-o and the _Law_ itself.

His world was surprisingly rigidly defined, and so _Law_ was a word that held nowhere near as much significance here as it did there. No one had ever been pardoned from the consequences of breaking part of the _Laws_ – until him. Because of Lucy.

He shook his head ruefully at himself as he arrived at his destination. _Boy, do I have it bad. She's got me so whipped – no pun intended,_ he chuckled at himself _._ He stopped on the little veranda in front of the traditional-style shoji, and stared down at his feet for a minute. _She deserves someone so much better than me. Someone who would go to the ends of the earth just to make her happy._

Well.

That last thought resonated for a moment inside his mind. Maybe that was him, after all, because he'd do whatever it took to keep her happy. He adored her smiles and detested it when she cried. Her tears made him want to destroy whatever was hurting her. He'd already given a part of himself away so as to keep her with him, and he'd do it again if it came to that. It wouldn't, but the knowledge was there - he was willing to give all of himself away to stay with her, up to and including his immortality. _I know she's way too good for me and I totally don't deserve her, but I'm a selfish bastard, like I told her earlier, and I'm just not willing to give her up to anyone or anything else. If I'm being strictly honest, that's why I jumped on the opening she gave me earlier. Not just for her sake, but for mine._

 _Because I want to be happy, and she's really the only one that makes me happy anymore. Fulfilled and content, as well._

With a sigh he set his mental meanderings aside and slid the door open. "I'd better get moving, or I'll be the one surprised, not her."

He stood inside the neat little cottage for a few beats, gathering himself, and then began the casting of a spell that he'd almost never used... and never for this kind of thing.

Closing his eyes to better focus, he started murmuring the words he'd painstakingly memorized so long ago. Each word had to be correct, and even the tones he was speaking had to contain a certain cadence, or the spell would be ruined. Power rose around him, and he began to glow.

"By the crown on the Lion's head, *Ras Elased Borealis,

by my right as leader of the thirteen Zodiac,

and by my poweras the celestial lion,

I command the universe to bow to my will,

and meld both realms of creation here.

Never combining, only overlapping,

make this place two in one...

Merge!

Loke staggered at the amount of power immediately sucked out of him, and nearly fell. But he held on, because the magic was joining the two realms together, the room now looking like it was in the stellar world. And it was... sort of.

Leaning heavily against the shoji, he breathed deeply, steadying himself. Now, all he had to do was give himself a few minutes, and because the Celestial world was temporarily intersected with Earthland, he didn't have to worry about needing to go home later to regain his strength. He would recharge naturally, just as he always did when he returned to the spirit world from this one.

He grinned wickedly to himself. _My poor little princess won't know what hit her. Although... she does still have to participate in the games, so I can't wear her out as much as I'd like to... she'll need her rest._ He was forced to firmly remind his now-sulking libido that he'd have all of forever to tire her out with lovemaking, so it would just have to deal with what it was going to get for now.

But _man_ , it was going to be hard to let her get any sleep tonight. He was a lion. Lions could mate up to forty times a day for four days in a row, and although he wasn't a rapid-release kind of guy and so couldn't expect to reach such numbers, he'd take longevity over those numbers any day. Yes, he was proud of himself – he could make sex last for hours at a time if he wanted, and since he'd craved Lucy for what seemed like forever to him, it was definitely going to take a _long_ time. What could he say? He was into tantric sex.

His grin softened, and he shoved his hands in his pockets and stood up straight again – he was already starting to feel better. It would take a few more minutes yet to recharge completely, but now at least his sweetheart wouldn't see him weakened. If she thought he was endangering himself just to please her, she'd strangle him, and he knew it.

Just then, he heard voices approaching, one of which was Lucy's, so he quickly stepped out of the shoji and intercepted them after sliding it shut – this wasn't to be seen by anyone else except his wife. The two stopped when they saw him.

"Is something wrong?" his princess asked.

"No, love," he replied as he took her meager bags from the attendant that had been leading her, "I just wanted to help you take your things inside, that's all." He set her belongings down, and then reached into his pocket and pulled out some jewel to tip the guy. The man accepted it and bowed, then left.

And now the two were alone, and it was finally time. Loke almost let out an audible sigh with the relief that he felt. Dammit, waiting had never been so hard before, and he almost couldn't believe this wasn't just another dream.

But as Lucy stared up at him from the shadows, he knew it _wasn't_ just another dream.

The look in her eyes was so deep and dark, like still waters, and he wondered what she was thinking with that face on.

So he asked.

"Are you okay?"

She contemplated that question. Was she okay? In a simple word, yes. But behind it, not quite. Because she was as nervous as hell. He was going to see her naked soon, and that... well, from what she'd heard, that was a normal thing for a girl to feel at a time like this. Nervous, scared, you name it, she was feeling it. _But_...

"Yes, I'm okay," she smiled, "just nervous. I'm sure that doesn't surprise you, you've probably had your fair share of virgins over the years and know what to expect. But just like all of them, I'll definitely survive the experience."

A frown flickered across Loke's face for just an instant at the mention of other women, but then he turned away and, picking up her few bags, he slid the shoji open and motioned for Lucy to step inside.

When she did, her jaw fell open and the things she was carrying went right to the floor as she stared around in shock. The spirit followed her in and set her bags aside as he watched his wife with greedy eyes while she took in their room.

"How did you make this place into a part of the celestial realm?" she asked, dumbfounded.

He grinned smugly at her reaction. Really, the look on her face was absolutely adorable – and priceless. He wished he'd bothered to get one of those lacrima cameras that had recently become so popular here in Fiore.

"Well, I did tell you in a roundabout way just how much power I have, didn't I?"

She narrowed her eyes on him but didn't remark directly on his comment. He didn't need a bigger ego than he already had, she huffed to herself. Instead, she said, "Start talking, Loke. I'm getting the feeling that you've done something I wouldn't really approve of." She looked around again. "Not that I don't appreciate it, and it _is_ beautiful. But still – I don't need these grand gestures, you know. _Especially_ if they're dangerous. And you can't tell me that trying something like this with no practice or preparation isn't tantamount to suicide."

The room grew quiet as Loke stared at her.

~~LoLu~~

A/N: Ras Elased Borealis is the 'head' star of the Leo constellation. Or at least, the top part. The ancients split the head of the lion in two, Ras Elased Borealis being the top, and Ras Elased Austrinus, the lower.

Now, on to another note. The next chapter will be a lemon. I won't be posting it on FF because of their restrictions. If you wish to read it, you can find it on my account at Ao3 under the same penname of kanna37. It might be a little while on that one, though, because it's going to be a killer. Or at least, that's what I'm aiming for.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part V**

"Ah, yeah, about that," Loke looked a little sheepish, and rubbed the back of his neck as he actually blushed.

Lucy was completely intrigued by that expression, and not just a little suspicious. Perhaps she knew her lion a bit _too_ well. "Is there something you need to tell me?" she asked, brow arcing questioningly into her bangs as she folded her arms across her chest. One foot began tapping when he didn't answer right away.

"Well, it's just that... I've kind of been working on this for a while," he admitted. "It's really difficult to get the dimensions to overlap without bleeding into each other, you know. Especially the time difference ratios of the matter."

It was silent for several moments as she took in some of the connotations of what he'd just said, and then, "Loke," she purred dangerously as he gulped, her eyes narrowing on him, "how have you been working on this for a _while_ , when today was a totally spontaneous - and quite frankly shocking – development?"

He sighed. _She's probably going to kill me for being so presumptuous._ "It _was_ spontaneous. But I've been hoping and praying for this for a long time. So... I kind of decided to be prepared just in case I ever managed to persuade you."

It was clear that he was expecting a bad reaction from her, if the way he'd just winced was any indication.

Were all men so stupid?

Why, oh _why_ would he think that him hoping for a future with her, and even making some plans towards that goal, would make her angry? It only proved all the more that he really had wanted to be with her, and the knowledge simply made her feel all soft and gooey inside. Maybe she was just strange, but that little tidbit he'd given her made her quite giddily happy, and so she smiled at him.

"I don't know... am I supposed to be mad at you for that? If I am, I'm sorry, because I don't really feel like being upset. I'm more flattered than anything, I guess," she giggled. When he gave a very relieved sigh, she just shook her head and looked around once more, the smile on her face softening as she took in her surroundings.

He'd gone to all this trouble for her. There wasn't anything she could say that would even _begin_ to tell him how she was feeling in that moment.

"So... I gather that this is a special place in the celestial world?" she invited his confidence as he nodded in response.

"This is our home. Well, okay, part of it," he added drolly as she glanced around again with a raised brow.

Her eyes landed on the main piece of furniture in the room. "The bedroom."

Loke smiled wryly at her, and shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out and grabbing her. _Patience..._ "Yes," he admitted. "I didn't think anywhere else would really be appropriate to consummate our marriage," he quipped as she tittered softly behind one hand at the mild joke, her eyes darting all over the place.

"How can you ever bear to leave your home here?" she asked breathlessly after a few moments of looking around. "It's so beautiful!"

"Yes," he agreed, though he wasn't really talking about the room – his eyes were only on her. "The celestial realm _is_ beautiful and _our_ home-" he emphasized pointedly, "-particularly so, but you're so much more alluring than anything or anywhere else, that I'd not miss never seeing it again... as long as I could spend forever looking at you instead."

Lucy flushed, then looked down shyly, her fingers fidgeting and twisting together. "T-thank you," she whispered.

It was clear to her husband that she didn't completely believe his compliments yet, but he wasn't too worried – he finally had forever to convince her, and sooner or later she'd accept that he really felt that way. The bond they now shared would make sure of it.

His smile softened with fondness as he watched the young woman for a moment before turning away.

"Come, Lucy-love, I'm sure you'd like to take a bath, soak a little and relax. I know I would. So why don't we gather what we'll need, and I'll show you the bathroom? ...Or at least the one connected to our bedroom, anyway."

Her flush deepened, but she refused to let her shyness get the better of her. "There's more than one?" she asked, wide-eyed. Just how wealthy was her lion, anyway? She'd never really paid too much attention to that, but now that she was actually noticing he always seemed to have whatever money he needed _when_ he needed it...

He laughed as he reached down and picked up the bags she'd dropped in her awe, then set them on a low tansu so that she could look in them to get what she'd need without having to crouch. "Yes, there's more than one." He moved across the softly lit space towards what seemed to be a wall, though as he neared it, a sweep of softly-lit darkness moved aside on its own, and Lucy glimpsed another large room beyond the one she was currently in.

While it was indeed beautiful, the whole thing was a little disorienting, if the truth were to be known – because she could see the confines of the Earthland inn they were staying in as well as the walls of her lion's spirit world home. The dimensions of the two areas weren't the same, and she had no idea how such a twisting of physical laws was even possible, though she chose not to question it at this point. The one thing she was really concerned with...

"Um, Loke?" she called out hesitantly as she gathered her bathing accouterments.

"Yes?" he sent back through the sounds of water pouring into a large tub.

"Well, you mentioned about the time difference thing... have you... evened them out so that both times flow together?" She needed to be sure on that point – she had a team to rejoin first thing in the morning, and couldn't afford to be late, no matter the reason. She couldn't let her own personal happiness take away from her team's chances at winning the games, let alone the guild's. Loke had made sure he and she had forever now, so they could afford to wait a few days for a real honeymoon.

"Mhmm," he hummed as he walked back out of the other room, already loosening his tie as he glanced over at her. He paused, then joined her in front of her bags as she stood there a little awkwardly. He smiled inwardly – that shyness of hers was _so_ damn cute and it made his heart swell. In her arms was a smaller bag, one that looked to have her favored bathing articles, and he shivered – he could hardly wait to have her scent permanently twining with his in this most private of inner sanctums. No other woman had ever been into this part of his home, and now only Lucy would ever see it.

He was good with that.

Tossing his tie and glasses onto the same tansu that held her things, he shrugged out of his suit jacket and laid it aside, as well. "I made sure, though of course I didn't know when I was working on it that we'd have such tight time constraints. But still, knowing that one day in the spirit world was the same as three months here, I was pretty certain you wouldn't be happy to find out we'd been gone overnight and a month or so at the same time. That's actually what took the longest to work out," he added as he smiled at her before beginning to loosen the cuffs to his shirt.

Blushing a little at Loke's total comfort with her, as though they'd been married for years, she got flustered and looked down quickly as he started unbuttoning the shirt itself and nodded. "Okay. Just wanted to make sure. I don't want to disappoint the rest of the team by showing up late and getting us disqualified or anything."

Arching an interested brow, Loke grinned inwardly when his little bride looked away. "Is something wrong?" he asked innocently as he kept his outward attention on removing his shirt. _It's not like she hasn't seen me shirtless before._ He had to fight off the naughty grin even harder when a high flush stole across her cheekbones – there it was, she was thinking of the same thing he was. _So innocent... though not for much longer._

A feral light gleamed for a moment in the stellar spirit's eyes before he hooded his gaze and laid aside the shirt he'd just stripped from his form. He almost wanted to laugh at the gulp Lucy took and the rapid glance she'd stolen before looking down at the bag she was holding again. She couldn't fool him; he could clearly scent out her arousal and excitement – as well as her shyness and nervousness. It was all extremely endearing, and he felt his heart soften as he stared at her. He just loved her so _damn_ much.

Silently he reached over and took her hand, then turned and pulled her behind him as he led her towards the bath. It was time to move things along – he didn't have all night to spend participating in his favored pastime of Lucy-watching. That would have to wait for another time. Tonight was a night for action, instead.

He blew out a breath that was heavy with relief. _Finally._

~~LoLu~~

 _Damn that sexy tattoo on his back!_

Lucy'd had a very large 'thing' for Loke and his body for a while – not that she'd ever admitted that to anyone. She hadn't really seen anything below the belt yet, but that Fairy Tail guild mark on his back... oh, hot damn. It was so perfectly situated on his flesh, somehow only enhancing his lithe but powerful build and those perfectly defined muscles in a way that should have been illegal.

The first time he'd slipped his jacket, tie, and shirt in front of her they'd been getting ready for the S-class trials on Tenrou, and Loke had explained that he was still a Fairy Tail mage and so would be Gray's partner. Then to prove his words – though she'd often privately thought he was really just attempting to seduce her again - he'd showed his guild mark to her by pulling his upper garments off, and she'd almost choked on her own drool. After that, she'd had a very hard time keeping him from being aware of her fatal attraction to his body, not wanting to become nothing more than another statistic to the flirtatious feline.

Obviously, her efforts at convincing _herself_ she didn't want him had failed. She guessed that she was just lucky that he _had_ wanted a great deal more than just a temporary fling with her, or this could have all turned out very, very badly. But all that to say that when Loke led her into the bathroom after discarding his upper garments she was immediately tongue-tied and lusting after him quite heavily, and she was absolutely certain that despite the fact that he didn't outwardly react, he was well aware of her preoccupation with him and his absolutely _yummy_ body.

Being that he was a lion, there was no way he could miss it with his nose - and since she wasn't even trying to hide it anymore... She figured that blushing and acting all bashful at getting naked with him in the bath – and out of it – was just a bit silly at this point.

So she decided to go with being bold, instead. _Guess I'll just follow my instincts – I_ _really do kinda_ _like what they're telling me to do anyway,_ she had to admit to herself _. Screw thinking about things too much. He's a lion anyway, so he'll like me being daring. It'll entice him._

Despite his knowledge of her arousal, when they arrived in front of the huge pool of hot, steaming water he'd prepared for them, Loke was a bit startled to turn around and meet with an already stripping Lucy.

Not that he was about to complain. No way.

Brows in his bangs and eyes blown wide with his lust for her, he stared. "And see? There's another hint of that intoxicating mix of shyness and boldness that I was mentioning earlier," the lion murmured, spellbound at the visual. "I don't know how in hell you manage to be such opposite damned things all at the same time."

Feeling empowered and a little more confident with his reaction to her impending nudity, Lucy giggled inwardly at his _very_ interested expression. She cocked a brow at him as she slipped her sundress over her head, leaving her in pretty, rather skimpy undergarments that instantly had a visible, heated flush rising along his body, to her glee.

"Well, are you just going to stand there?" she asked archly – before turning around with a naughty smirk and bending down right in front of him to begin unlacing her sandals. She grinned in triumph as a small choking sound came from behind her.

"Oh, now you've done it," her lion growled as he inhaled sharply at the beautiful sight of her bent down before him with those dangerous curves of hers almost completely bared to him. He had no patience suddenly with his own remaining clothes; he kicked off his shoes and then reached for his belt, his eyes not moving from her gorgeous backside. "Show me just how audacious you can be, little lioness. Don't hold back on me."

She looked over her shoulder at his sexy growl with a come hither expression as she set her sandals aside, then straightened slowly, provocatively, her hands slipping up her body in a very erotic manner. She allowed her eyes to wander down his chest a ways, then let them fall closed, her fingers absently reaching up to slide her bra straps down.

 _Dear heavens, she's going to be the death of me,_ was all he could think as he stripped his pants, boxers, and socks off, then froze. _I always knew she could be passionate, but holy hell!_

A momentary hesitance caused Lucy to slow her actions a little as her bra, now unsnapped in the back, slid down her arms, and she kept her breasts hidden for a few seconds longer than necessary as she discarded the lacy undergarment. But then she shook her head at herself and opened her eyes. With the way things always seemed to go on her jobs, Loke'd pretty much seen most of her chest already, anyway. It wasn't like the little that had managed to remain covered would repulse him, and she knew it. So she turned back around with a sweet smile and a promising sort of wink and dropped her arms, ready to shuck her panties and hop into that steaming hot water.

It was her turn to freeze, blown away at the sight.

Oh, he was beautiful, and she could barely draw any air.

So, maybe it sounded odd to be using that term in reference to someone as obviously male as he was, but it was the only one that fit. Naked, he looked taller than he actually was, and his body was long and lean, superlatively muscled. It was clear to anyone looking at him that he wasn't human – no mere _human_ had a body that glorious. Despite the fact that she _knew_ he'd spent his entire existence fighting, not a mark or a scar was to be found anywhere. His skin was totally unblemished, flushed with life and warmth... and arousal. Her eyes dipped then, and widened.

 _Wow._ Lucy was truthfully a little daunted at the sight of his groin. Not obnoxiously huge, it was still a good length and girth, and if it wasn't for virginal uncertainty, she'd be beaming. _Well, he was certainly blessed,_ she thought. _In more ways than one._

Loke was just as captivated, though he wasn't going to let the exquisite sight of her stop him from getting a hell of a lot closer. He stepped forward after a moment spent staring at her, moving a little more aggressively than he had 'til that point, settling his hands tenderly on her hips as he twined his fingers in the material of her tiny panties and began to slide them down. He wondered if her shyness would make her try to catch his fingers or turn away, and was pleased when she didn't move. She seemed to have stopped even breathing, if the way she was completely motionless said anything.

The moment her underwear hit the floor he was scooping her up into his arms and walking into the water via the three steps located at one end of the deep bath. He stilled, though, inhaling sharply as she traced the muscles right over his heart.

"Lucy, I..." He trailed off when her hand came up, and he watched her through eyes filled with intense emotion.

She pressed a finger against his lips with a soft smile, her expression tender. "I know. I told you before I trust you, and that hasn't changed. You said it earlier, and you know the feeling's mutual."

It was his turn to smile and repeat the assurance. "I know." He could literally feel it through the bond, and he reveled in it.

After a moment spent holding her gaze he settled them slowly on one of the benches carved into the stone of the pool, and laid his head back against the ledge with a sigh of enjoyment. He could feel muscles tensed and coiled with arousal and anticipation unknot and relax, settling his blood on a slow simmer instead of a near boil.

Just the way he wanted it. Despite the constraints of their situation, he intended this night to take quite a while – it was still early enough in the evening, after all.

There was yet plenty of time for the pleasures to come.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I was wrong. This chapter just ended up being the _intro_ to the lemon. ~shrugs~

Sorry.


	6. Part VI

**Part VI**

~~LoLu~~

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Fairy Tail.

~~LoLu~~

Lucy, eyes slumberous and full of desire, glanced up at her new husband from her spot on his lap after sitting snuggled against him in the – absolutely amazing – bath for a few minutes. She could feel his arousal pressed against her hip, and she was a little surprised at how comfortable she was with it. She was just so happy and relaxed that she couldn't find it in herself to feel bashful though, let alone act it. It wasn't like she didn't want him, after all.

But...

She bit her lip. "Umm, Loke?" When he smiled and opened his eyes to look at her, she continued. "Do you think we could move? This position is a little uncomfortable."

The lion suddenly flashed a roguish grin. "What, is my lap not soft enough for you?"

"Actually, no, now that you mention it, it's quite... _hard,_ " she returned tartly, rolling her eyes at him.

Loke chuckled with deepening amusement at her feisty reply. "Of course it is," he agreed easily. "Well, if you aren't comfortable that way, how about this?" As soon as he finished speaking he began to move, and Lucy was very startled to realize, as they shifted position smoothly, that somehow he was changing the shape of the bath itself. The bench had extended and moved around them, shaping itself to what seemed to be her husband's wishes.

"How...?" she gasped, gaping down into the water.

The man she was now laying against laughed, enjoying her befuddlement. "The celestial world is made of... I suppose you could call it ether, for lack of any better term. It's a mixture of energy and matter both. As a celestial spirit I can manipulate this ether and basically make it do whatever I want. The other spirits, too. It's only our own personal abilities that hinder us; I can do things with it that the others can't because of my strength and position as leader of the zodiac. And Seirei-o can do much more than I can, of course."

Lucy's eyes were wide. "Oh," she breathed, relaxing and resettling against him in a more comfortable way. "That sounds pretty cool, actually," she said after a minute. "So, you can basically make the spirit world look any way you want it by manipulating the fabric of the celestial dimension itself. That's what you're telling me, right?"

He nodded placidly. "Mhm."

"Could I learn to do it?" she asked.

"Most certainly. You are a powerful mage, after all, even able to do high-level caster magic."

She blushed at his approbation. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," he smiled. "It's really not hard at all, but I won't be able to teach you until we actually move to the spirit world. If you were to try right now and made the slightest mistake, it could unravel the spell merging the two dimensions in a very unpleasant manner."

Lucy smiled a little in return and laid her head back down against Loke's shoulder. "Well, we can't have that, now can we?"

He chuckled.

"I can wait," she said softly after a minute. "Thanks, Loke."

He shivered at the feel of her heated breath fluttering over his damp collarbone. His voice a little husky with emotion and repressed desire, he replied, "No, thank _you_ , Lucy," as he tightened his embrace.

It went without saying what he was thanking her for. _Everything._

Not that even that word was descriptive enough of what he truly owed her.

It fell quiet again after that, and both basked in the time spent curled together. Desire prowled just beneath the surface, but it was partially tamed by the heated water and comfortable feeling that had sprung up between them.

That wouldn't last for long, of course.

Loke was already feeling the need to get things moving, his arousal hard and hurting. However, he really was a tantric sort of man, and he didn't want anything that was going to be over quick. He had quite a bit of control, and he was going to make love to his wife the way _he_ wanted, not have their first time dictated by his (admittedly raging) libido.

With that thought in mind, he slowly began to run his hands along her body. He started with just shallow passes across small patches of skin, gentling her and letting her become accustomed to his touch in less-erotic areas. He moved like a hunting cat – inch by inch, allowing his hands to move just a _tiny_ bit further with each sweep, creeping up on his beautiful prey so that she wouldn't suddenly wake from his spell and try to flee.

He felt an odd little vibration and heard a tiny sound as he did so, and his brows rose in astonishment. _Did she just_ _purr_ _? It was a human-sounding purr, but nonetheless..._ His hands continued their motions, and sure enough... _She did! I heard it clearly that time!_

"I thought _I_ was the cat around here,"he stated dryly, his voice filled with humor.

Lucy jolted a little at that, but then he could feel a smile cross her face as she lay against his skin. "Do you mind?"

"No way in hell," he responded pleasantly. "Feel free to purr for me anytime you want, babe."

She giggled, but didn't say anything. She didn't really need to, he could _hear_ her thinking it. _You perverted lion._

Loke grinned wickedly in response to that thought. _You don't know the half of it, my love – but you will here quite soon..._

"So... is there a reason you're being so cautious? Afraid I'll bite or something?"

The ginger-haired man blinked, a little stunned at the rather forward comment, frankly. _What did she just say?_ "Pardon?"

His wife giggled again in response and lifted her head to look at him with a languid, sensual expression that he'd never seen on her before. "You don't have to worry about creeping up on me, Loke. I'm well aware of what's going to happen between us, and if you hadn't noticed, I'm in a bath naked with you and clinging quite tightly. I'm not going anywhere. Just consider me a captive audience, why don't you?"

A delighted smile slowly crossed his face. "And how do you feel about audience participation, my lady?" he flirted playfully.

Lucy shifted against him, turning in his embrace and slipping an arm up. She tilted her head and went right for his lips, splashing her mouth against his passionately as she wrapped that arm around the back of his neck. He opened immediately for her with perfect trust; though he'd been rather startled by her sudden maneuver, he certainly wasn't going to complain. After a scorching, though slightly clumsy kiss that did funny things to his heart but only lasted all of fifteen seconds or so, she pulled back.

Loke's eyes opened as soon as she moved – he needed to _see_ her. And he did.

She looked like visual sex. He couldn't find any other way to describe what she was to him in that moment. She was the pleasure felt at the height of an orgasm, but only his eyes were actually involved. And then she opened her own eyes all slumberous with heat, and _Oh, please gods_ she was divine and he was drowning _._

"Audience participation is required, as far as I'm concerned. _This_ 'audience' isn't one to just lay back and watch the proceedings, anyway," she replied pertly. "So why don't we finish this bath so we can move on to the important things?"

A wolfish grin stole across Loke's face, and he released his hold on Lucy so she could begin bathing.

"Your wish is my command, sweetheart – err... rather literally, actually," he laughed. "Master."

She scowled at him. "Don't do that. I'm not your master, I was your _friend_ , and now I'm your _wife._ There's no room for a 'master' here. You have your own mind and know how to use it. You don't need someone making your decisions for you anymore than I do," she said fiercely.

Yet again, she'd made his breath choke off in his lungs and his throat tighten with unrestrained emotion. _She unmans me every time. Oh, Lucy..._ His mind flashed to the extreme differences between his beloved and his former master, Karen. They were so deep as to be an abyss, it seemed.

Aloud, he said, "I adore you, you know," simply, with no guile or attempt to make himself seem more stoic or manly. There was only them and the quietly spoken words, stark and bare and open.

They made her blush as he held her gaze with his own intense one. She opened her mouth as if to say something; he shook his head and pressed a finger to her lips, catching the words before they could leave.

"But it's okay. When I call you master, I'm not meaning it the way you're thinking. I already told you earlier tonight that you own me, and that it was as a man to a woman, not spirit to _owner._ When I say that, I just mean that you've mastered my heart. It's not a bad thing, in fact, I welcome it with open arms. It offers me more happiness than I've ever known."

Lucy made a face, not completely appeased by his explanation. It was clear, at least, that she'd thought on that word frequently, and didn't like what it implied. "Che... _owner_ ," she growled, beginning to look to Loke like an angry cub, hissing and snarling at an attacker. "Who the hell thought up that term, anyway? You can't _own_ your _friends_." The water splashed a little violently in reaction to her suddenly harsh, frustrated movements, and Loke half-smiled to himself as he washed and watched her surreptitiously. "Hmph. Bastards."

Would she ever cease to surprise him with the depths of her heart? He honestly hoped not. He wanted to wallow in all that was Lucy forever. He'd wanted that for a while.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop," he finally replied as he slanted a light, impish look her way, not wanting her to be thinking displeasing thoughts on this most special of all nights. "You might flood the bathroom if I don't. It's just that you're so much fun to tease and rile up that I can't help it."

Brow flying into her bangs at that, Lucy eyed her husband. Oh, he looked so damn good with the water dripping down his chest and abs, making her eyes follow those paths with want. She flicked a loaded glance at him, then paused in her washing to lean over and lick unhurriedly upwards from his chest to the base of his throat, following the path of some of the streams of water in reverse.

Loke jerked and swallowed harshly, not having expected that, but it felt so overwhelmingly good that he was beginning to wonder who was the virgin between the two of them, because she certainly wasn't acting like one. Right now he felt like the virgin, because that one, simple little move had just rocked his whole world.

That feeling only got stronger when she got to the hollow of his throat and dipped her tongue in, sucked lightly... and then bit down _._ It wasn't a hard bite, but enough for him to feel her teeth rather sharply. He was _two seconds_ away from pouncing on her...

She pulled away with a sultry smile and winked at his confused and wanting expression.

"You're fun to tease, too, Loke. Just remember," she purred dangerously as her smile turned mischievous, "if you tease me, I'm going to get you back for it."

He blinked. That little...! Oh, he'd known she was a passionate woman beneath her sometimes uncertain and untried demeanor, but he really hadn't expected... _this_. He wasn't complaining, no... never that. In all actuality, her forward, more aggressive actions were quite welcome by him – more than welcome, truly.

His desire for her ramping ever higher, Loke quickly dunked himself underwater to wet his hair. Time to get the cleaning up over with...

So they could then get out and proceed to get dirty again.

 _What is it that Natsu always says? I'm all fired up? Best phrase ever._

"See who can finish their bath first?" he offered.

Lucy grinned and clenched her fist. "You're on."

~~LoLu~~

Fifteen minutes later found two people finished with their bathing.

"Man, I can't believe I lost," Lucy sighed mournfully, her lower lip pouting as she readied to climb from the bath and wrap herself in a nice fluffy towel.

"I'm a lion," came the matter-of-fact reply. "Lions don't lose well. Especially in _these_ kinds of circumstances," he leered.

She turned a dour look on him, and he reached over with a smile and slid a finger down the slender ridge of her nose, which she wrinkled. It was _unbelievably_ adorable. _Fuck._ _I'm a lost cause._ The thing was, he just couldn't bring himself to really care.

"What? It's the truth. So... since I won, what do I get?" he asked slyly, watching her closely. He wanted to see how she was going to act – it was time to get out of the water. Would she climb from it with bold confidence as she'd done when getting in, or would that stubborn shy streak take back over?

Lucy was indeed fighting with herself. She definitely had that bold, daring side to her personality, but there was also that little bit of shyness that she couldn't quite seem to kick no matter how hard she tried. But tonight... tonight wasn't a night for shyness and hesitation. Tonight was a night for a meeting of equals. And while she'd never be able to equal his experience (she'd never want to try), she could definitely try to match his daring and passion.

Licking dry lips as she looked down, she firmed her courage and stood up, her chest coming up out of the water and into Loke's view with nothing to hide it. "Time to move this to somewhere better suited, wouldn't you say?" she asked, raising her head to look at him with determination.

Loke's eyes instantly locked on to her breasts, though he tried hard not to let them linger. He couldn't help it. He had always adored his little lioness' attributes... after all, they were very apparent. She was tiny, which brought out his protective instincts, but curvy and well-endowed, and her sweet face, rich brown eyes, and glowing golden hair didn't exactly hinder her appeal. But to gaze at even part of her body completely uninhibited...the impact was... _wow._ He was blown away by the rush of things just that visual alone made him feel.

So he swallowed hard and said, "That might be the best idea I've ever heard," tightly.

A sweet flush swept up her body at his hot stare, but instead of letting it intimidate her, she responded by slanting a knowing smirk at him and moving forward to walk boldly up the steps and out of the bath.

 _Damn... what a woman!_

The lion was locked in place, utterly unable to move or look away as her hourglass figure became clearly visible. When the curves of her sweet little ass slid into view, though, it was over for him. He hurriedly stood to follow, moving as a moth to the flame. His eyes were intent and ignorant to anything else, his attention solely on her. He was bewitched.

Lucy looked over her shoulder and beckoned him with a curl of one slender, well-bred finger. "Come to me, Loke," she said alluringly, making her way out to the other room... and the bed that took up one complete end of it.

Like a satellite to its host Loke followed, entirely spellbound by her and her body and actions. He was altogether unable and even unwilling to break away from her.

The celestial lion had most definitely been leashed.

 _No matter,_ he purred dangerously as he stalked her to their marriage bed. _Leashed is not tamed._

When he verbalized that thought just as they reached the massive bedstead, Lucy turned around with a high flush and smiled genuinely at him, no trace of seduction in her gaze for the moment, merely honesty. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Loke. And yes... if you're asking, I'm still nervous," she admitted softly, the twinkle in her eyes turning a little shy but filled with a deeper knowing at the same time. She could feel through their bond that he was curious about that point.

"You sure had me fooled," he chuckled as he reached her and pressed her backwards into the bedding, following her down onto it. He scooted them up and then propped his head on his hand and looked at her. After a moment, his expression turned serious.

"I could make some speech along the lines of 'there's nothing to be scared or nervous of', but that would be kind of pointless, because you already know that and it doesn't really help. It never does in these kinds of circumstances, for some reason," a wry smile flashed quickly across his face, then faded again. "But I just want you to know... that you're not the only one that's nervous. This... _us_... is the most important thing in the world to me, and I'm worried that I'll do something you don't like and mess it up for you. But even though I'm nervous, I'm not going to give in to that feeling and let it stop me," he warned her. "I've wanted you for far too long to let anything do that."

She smiled and lifted a hand up to cup his cheek, her gaze searching his for the truth of his words... and finding it. His eyes were open and unguarded to her, and allowing her own to soften, she let him see straight into her heart.

 _Then don't, and I won't, either._

His responding smile was breathtaking, and _Oh, stars_ , he was just beautiful. No words could even come close. She gently swept her thumb along one high cheekbone, her heart aching with tenderness for him. "Kiss me."

That was all the invitation the lion needed, and he leaned down and took her lips slowly and sensuously, almost unbearable heat in every flick and touch of his tongue against hers and the sensitive inner flesh of her mouth.

Her hand slid up into his soft ginger locks, pulling him closer, and Loke allowed her to tug him down against her side. In that position he was half atop her, which was just perfect, because there was skin on skin contact but yet it left plenty of flesh for his hands to explore.

He slid the hand that had landed on her waist up slowly until he was cupping a breast. Lucy moaned into the kiss at that, and as he caressed the soft skin, her lashes fluttered and she looked directly into his bemused gaze.

Lifting his mouth from hers, he murmured, "You look so beautiful like that, with your eyes all sleepy and sultry and _hungry_."

"Loke," she sighed as she arched into his touch. "Loke."

To the lion it was as if she were affirming his presence, as though she was making sure he really was there with her. His heart softened dangerously, and he lowered his mouth to her perfect breast, suckling it lightly as he gentled her into his touch. He didn't want to overwhelm her, he only wanted to love her.

"Lucy," he breathed when he pulled away from the one and flicked a glance up at her as he moved to the other; she was staring openly at him with, dark, hooded eyes and watching every move he made. He held her gaze hotly as he slowly bent to take the untouched nipple into his mouth, and he was very turned on to see that she didn't once look away as most virgins would have. Having her watch him suckle her breast was an intense turn on for Loke, more erotic than anything he could remember ever seeing.

She didn't try to hide her reactions at all. Every cry, every moan, every demand for him to do it harder, it was all there in plain view. Her eyes dilating 'til the pupil was merely a thin ring around the iris, every sigh and hiss and mewl, she shared it all with him. Unable to help himself as his need momentarily overwhelmed him, he released the nipple in his mouth with a pop and thrust himself upward to take her luscious mouth in a needy, talented, but just slightly sloppy kiss that had Lucy writhing in her attempts to get ever closer to him.

"I love you," he told her fiercely as he met her eyes with a feral gaze, lips still against hers, before finally falling on her like a man too long denied and simply unable to hold out any longer.

He devoured her.

 _I will love you forever._

~~LoLo~~

Okay, so blame Loke. He's just not cooperating on this damn lemon thing. But we're finally on our way in, anyway. Oh, and the next chapter will NOT be posted on Fan Fic dot net. If you wish to read the lemon, you'll need to go to my account on Ao3. I write under the same penname there, kanna37.


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